In 2022 the entertainment industries inched closer to pre-pandemic levels. It has also been quite an eventful year for live music, especially in Thailand, where concerts, festivals and parades of amazing international acts were marching back to the country. As the New Year is here, let's take a look back at some of the highs and lows of music happenings in the world this year, and see what are some of the interesting shows we should look forward to in 2023.
April
Heartthrob singer Harry Styles never fails to surprise his fans and 2022 was no different. Apart from the release of his third solo album or showing off his acting skills in Olivia Wilde's crime thriller Don't Worry Darling, one of the highlights this year was taking the stage at Coachella with a surprise guest, country pop diva Shania Twain, where the singers performed a number of Twain's classics like Man! I Feel Like A Woman! and You're Still The One.
May
One of the biggest TV rock moments of all was undoubtedly the use of Metallica's Master Of Puppets in Stranger Things Season 4. The character of Eddie Monson played by Joseph Quinn performed the song at the show's finale and even got to jam with the band themselves.
Freedom, a song by Norwegian pop Jenny Hval, has become a new holiday pop sensation. The artful, breezy, shimmering tunes and its lyrics "I want to live in a democracy/ Somewhere where art is free/ Not that it ever was" she sings with ethereal vocals and airy yet pensive meditation harmonies.
June
The song Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) was a hit in 1985 as the lead single of British star Kate Bush's fifth studio album Hounds Of Love. The song surprisingly went back into the UK Top 10 again, thanks to the mega-popular Netflix show Stranger Things.
July
In a year that was packed with so much interesting news, a new album from Beyoncé was absolutely one of the most welcome events. Renaissance was an instant No.1 hit and critical darling thanks to its beautiful fusing of R&B, disco and house.
September
Metalheads were pleased that Slipknot came back with a new set of masks and new album The End, So Far. Their single The Dying Song (Time To Sing) has now been streamed over 20 million times on Spotify.
The best pop-punk news of the year was undoubtedly the return of Tom DeLonge to the Blink 182 line-up. The trio revealed the news via a series of mysterious billboards and a cheeky video message that confirmed they were indeed coming to fans around the world. We're delighted to see the trio back together and DeLonge sent a note of thanks to Alkaline Trios' Matt Skiba upon his return, saying: "I wanted to take a minute and say thank you for all that you have done to keep the band thriving in my absence. The band would not even be here today if it were not for your ability to jump in and save the day."
October
One of the most shared videos this month is This Is Why, a comeback single from rock group Paramore that serves as the title track of their new album set for release in next year. Hayley Williams said that the track "was the very last song we wrote for the album. To be honest, I was so tired of writing lyrics but Taylor [York] convinced Zac [Farro] and I both that we should work on this last idea". Second single The News is available now and they have cited Block Party as a major influence on the record with the band lined up to support them on their tour next year.
November
Much like Stranger Things and Kate Bush, Jenna Ortega's dance moves on Wednesday, the latest Netflix mega-hit, went viral and took over TikTok. According to Ortega, the dance actually took inspiration from post-punk icon Siouxsie and the Banshees.
The biggest event this month was the return of Maho Rasop International Music Festival after a three-year absence. The festival took place between Nov 19-20 and relocated from Live Park Rama 9 to the massive 30,400m² lawn of ESC Park, Rangsit, with impressive line-ups of both international and local artists, such as MONO, Last Dinosaurs, DIIV, Fazerdaze, Mild High Club, Dry Cleaning, A Place to Bury Strangers, Tokyo Shoegazer and many more.
December
The independent music community mourned the loss of Hamish Kilgour, a New Zealand co-founder of the 90s cult favourite The Clean. Kilgour, 65, was found dead in Christchurch, friends said. The singer was last seen at The Palms shopping centre in the city on Nov 27.
In Thailand, December is the month music fans get a bonanza of fabulous festivals to choose from, such as the Wonderfruit Festival 2022 in Chon Buri that was packed with a dance and DJ line-up, including Penguin Cafe, Masayoshi Fujita, Sebastian Mullaert, Anne Müller, Hatis Noit and Batavia Collective.
Big Mountain Music Festival is another long-standing festival held in Nakhon Ratchasima that promotes local independent musicians and artists. This month, the festival embraced the cold weather with amazing line-ups including Cocktails, Getsunova, Klear, Lipta, Palmy, Potato, Scrubb, Slot Machine, Stamp, Tattoo Colour and many more all through two days and nights.
